GUNS FOR GOODS NETS 95 GUNS IN TOWN

Police collected a lot of older weapons and a brand new Uzi during the town's participation in the statewide Guns for Goods program, Lt. David Caron, a local police spokesman, said Thursday.

Of the 95 weapons received, Caron said, 87 were rifles, shotguns or handguns and eight were assault weapons.

"We think the program was very successful for a town our size," he said.

It is difficult to say, however, if residents got rid of their weapons for gift certificates or because of the accidental death last July of teenager Kyle Hirons. Hirons was fatally wounded as he and two friends played with a handgun found in a bedroom.

"Many of the weapons had been handed down from different family members," Caron said. "We got some that were worth some money or collectibles."

Many of the people kept quiet about why they were taking advantage of the program. Caron remembers the woman who brought in the Uzi in its original cardboard box from the manufacturer.

"She just said she wished to dispose of the weapon," Caron recalls. "We don't ask," questions about when or why the illegal weapons were purchased.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal terminated the program this week, saying it had run out of money after collecting more than 3,000 weapons statewide.